


Run away, little blue

by Tsukuyomi_Ravioli



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Donatello also needs to chill, Gen, Hurt Leonardo (TMNT), Hurt/Comfort, Michelangelo keeping the group together, Minor Injuries, No turtle x turtle, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Protective Donatello (TMNT), Protective Michelangelo (TMNT), Protective Raphael (TMNT), Raphael is the oldest turtle, Serious Injuries, Tcest be GONE, Weird Plot Shit, Zoo, as is Leonardo, just no, leonardo is the youngest turtle, raphael needs to chill, scared leonardo (TMNT), tmnt age rearrange, zoo au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27656903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsukuyomi_Ravioli/pseuds/Tsukuyomi_Ravioli
Summary: The turtles haven't had a great year.Firstly, Splinter is murdered, leaving them broken as a family, then through Donatello's work, it is revealed Leonardo isn't even the oldest and now?Now they have been captured, and forced into the public view for everyone to see.ORA zoo au mixed in with youngest!Leo no one asked for
Relationships: Casey Jones/April O'Neil (TMNT), Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT), Donatello & Leonardo (TMNT), Donatello & Michelangelo (TMNT), Leonardo & Michelangelo (TMNT), Leonardo & Raphael (TMNT)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 68





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! To be clear about this story; there is no set TMNT universe this takes place in; I wrote this before ROTTMNT came out, so it was in no way inspired by that, although I did take the character designs from TMNT 2012 and 2003. You can think of this as a completely different universe however, due to the timeline being all messed up.

Donetello sighed; the air whistling through his teeth as he leaned back against his chair, stretching his aching body until each joint cracked within. His fingers loosely played with the ends of his bandanna as he looked through the security cameras he'd strategically placed throughout the city, finding nothing of interest. A few rough-looking teens graffiti-painting the walls, a stray cat, and at one point, a singular plastic bag wafting through the night's air. 

He was **bored**. 

The purple-clad turtle didn't get bored. He was always inspired! Why was he here, moping around doing nothing for once; that was Michelangelo's job for crying out loud! Donnie was the brainy one - the one with all the ideas; constantly working on gadgets and gizmos. Yet here he was - bored out of his too-large mind. 

Glancing out of his slightly-open door, he caught a glimpse of Raphael, who was sat on the back of the sofa, foot pushing what looked to be Mikey's shell. His eyes shifted down to the controller sat in Raph's hands. Donnie couldn't help but be jealous; his brother's never seemed to get bored playing with simple-minded toys - the only one Donatello was certain could acknowledge this and understand his reasoning would be Leonardo, but for quite some time now the leader has also joined his brothers in their video-game fanatics. He supposed it did make sense - Leo was allowing himself to let all his own frustrations out on something more action-packed. A turtle could only take so much meditation after all. 

The thing is, Leo didn't seem to be there, and Donnie had a half-brained idea to go seek him out. His big brother always had some form of entertainment he could give the brainiac-ninja. Be it a book or just a simple conversation. They may not have things in common personality-wise - Leo being strong, quick-thinking, and calm, whereas Donnie was more logical, smart, yet an overall mess - but they got along fairly well. Maybe it was their slightly inverted nature that brought them close as brothers - Raphael and Michelangelo had always been the more outgoing of the group after all. It was why they were out there playing games, and he was in his lab, working. 

Well, again. **Working**. There wasn't much of that going on. 

"You know, maybe I should be a psychic." Came a voice from the shadows. Donnie jumped, reaching for his bō staff, his fingers gripping onto the handle and raising the weapon up, squeezing to let out the hidden-blade within, which pointed right at the intruder. A half-strangled laugh exploded from the shadow. "Don." The scientist relaxed at the realization that it was only his eldest brother, Leo. The shadowy figure moved into the light just as his staff went down, and he was met face to face with his shorter, grinning, leader. "I was going to say, before you rudely tried to slice me-" Donnie's embarrassment spiked, and he swore his face turned red. If Leo saw it, he didn't mention it, however, beginning to move deeper into his brother's messy lab instead. "-that I should be a psychic - I can tell what you're thinking. You need to relax a little, Donnie."

"That's the thing, Leo, I can't!" His voice raised, and Leo winced, but continued his walk nonetheless over to the 'guest chair' Donatello kept in his laboratory, sitting neatly into it, bringing his legs up to cross against each other as he leaned back. "I'm just so restless and bored, and, and-"

"And tired." Leonardo cut in, sighing. "I get it - I mean, it's like me when I just can't get into the.. the..." He waved his hands around, finally catching onto the word. "Vibe. Meditation, relatively speaking, takes a lot out of me. And sometimes, well, I end up like this." He gestured at his brother. "Bored." 

"Your bored and my bored are two separate things, Leonardo." 

That made his brother laugh. "So they are, Donnie. So you're looking for ideas? Why not create a punching bag Raph can't actually break this time? Or a pizza oven for Mikey?" 

"Firstly, I tried the punching bag idea; he broke it. Somehow." Leonardo raised a puzzled eyebrow, but the glare sent his way shut him up real fast. "Secondly, because as much as I love our baby brother, Leo, I don't think I can handle too much of his 'pizza skills'. Gifting him an oven would actually kill us all." 

Leo shrugged, getting up from the chair, muscles antsy from staying prone for too long. He began to absentmindedly walk through his brother's lab, eyeing the different things before coming across - oh. 

"Hey Don." He gestured over to the items in question; it was their blood and plasma bank, nestled among other objects that clustered around it. It was almost forgotten; they hadn't been injured in weeks now, so there had been no use for it since. "Why don't you do something with all this? I read somewhere blood contains DNA, right? Why not look into all that?"

Donnie's eyes went wide. How had he never thought to look at their DNA? After all these years? The thought of finding out just exactly how they worked, lived and breathed would be astonishing, **especially** something as as close up as DNA analyzing. There could be secrets that he, **Doctor** Donatello if you will, could be the first to uncover about a mutants DNA, and how it differed from a humans. "That's... Actually really helpful. Thanks, Leo!" 

"No problem, little bro." His deep-blue eyes held a calm that could will a storm down, and he let out a comforting smile. "Hopefully you won't get too deep into it though - I originally came in to say dinner would be ready soon. And don't worry - I supervised Mikey in the kitchen this time."

Don cracked a smile of his own. "Don't remind me of the toaster incident Leo - I can't trust either of you in there, you sneaky little devils." 

"Hey, it was one time!" 

"Yeah yeah." He wafted a hand at his brother, using the other to grip onto the blood storage handle. "Now shoo, let me start working on this." 

"Alright - see you later Donnie." 

The door closed with a click, and **finally** Donnie had something to do. His mind itched with the possibilities, and yet in his heart, he knew that he would uncover something that could potentially rock his whole family apart. 

He just didn't know _**what**_


	2. Chapter one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT  
> So these chapters are quite short for a reason - I wrote this story originally over three years ago (on wattpad), and I recently rewrote the chapters. Due to me having to try and keep the chapters covering the same topics for it to make sense, these first few chapters aren't as long as my usual 1000-2000 worded chapters.

Leonardo glanced at the television as he walked past, watching in mild amusement as the characters on the screen danced about, trying to knock the other onto zero-health. Raphael was laughing, a first in a while, Leo assumed. He sounded happy and relaxed. Michelangelo was squealing as his character was beaten again and again, only getting in a few punches to the ever-growing onslaught coming from the red-banded turtle.

"Hey Leo!" Mikey whined, drawing the older turtle's attention towards him again, deep blue eyes meeting baby blue. The younger smiled; "Come beat Raphie - he totally cheated and I'm out of lives!"

The leader was close to declining, but from the glare from Raphael that he was sending his way, he thought otherwise. Hopping over the sofa to sit next to the youngest, he grinned. "Okay - where's the controller?"

"Hell yeah Leo!" Mikey cheered, handing him the controller quickly - they'd been made to work with their three fingers, so Leo had no problem easily getting used to this games programmed controls (thanks to Donatello remaking it for them after Raphael had rudely shattered the disk), and soon, he to was laughing as he took on the strongest turtle's character.

...

Donatello couldn't believe it. These results... no. He shouldn't have looked - he should have just left it as it was. But no; he took Leonardo's suggestion and found a loophole in their family system. Surely he should've seen this coming - right? Surely...

...

"Guys..?" Don said softly, voice barely making a dent among the sounds of Mikey chewing as they ate dinner, Raphael following close behind in the sounds of slurping and gulping. The purple-banded turtle shuddered as all the eyes turned on him. "I have something to... say."

There was a moments silence as they waited for him to speak. Don took in all their faces; Leonardo was ever calm, his kind, blue eyes speaking wonders to his soul, Michelangelo was still bouncy, not caring about the tenseness that had come over the room. Raphael was a different story.

"Spit it out, idiot." Raph muttered, eyes ablaze. Clearly he hadn't won the videogame match that Donatello had heard him playing against Leonardo earlier. "We ain't got all day."

Donnie's mind stuttered, as did his words. He would have never imagined that he would have to spill this information out. He could keep it in instead, keep it to his dying grave, but alas, his brain just couldn't function like that. Besides, Raphael would probably beat it out of him. "Okay... Okay. Raph, uh, put us all in age order."

Raphael snorted, raising a suspicious eyebrow - "Leo, me, you, Mike."

"I... Leonardo gave me the idea to check our DNA from our blood banks-" He turned to Mikey, "Meaning looking into how our body works, Mike." He got a confirming nod from the smaller. "And, it turns out, mutants DNA can show their age, as well..."

"So what? You're gonna tell me Mike's the oldest?" Raph chuckled, and Don caught sight of him twirling his finger around his Sai's blades. He was nervous. "If so, afraid I'll have ta kill him."

"Raph!" Mikey shrieked, and Don put his fingers to his tender head, sighing heavily.

"Guys, c'mon." Leo said, shifting in his seat to appear to be paying more attention. Donnie's heart stuttered as he imagined how that kind look would change once he found out the truth. "What's up, Don? What did you find?"

"I ran... ran a bunch of tests, right? To check different things - like turtle-species, a-and I decided to try looking into our ages. Raph-" His gaze turned back to his immediate older brother. "You're the oldest. Leo... Leo's the youngest, actually."

There was a dead, foreign silence that sprung upon them. Even Mikey had stopped eating, mouth agape in silent surprise. "W-What?"

He swallowed the building lump in his throat, before steadily repeating. "Leo's the youngest. Then-then Mike, then me, then Raph."


	3. Chapter two

"No way." Raph breathed, fingers slipping on his weapons as he took in this information. Mikey was across the table from him, equally in the same amount of shock. Donatello refused to look at Leonardo, afraid of what he might find. **Disgust**? Perhaps. **Anger**? Definitely. Leo had always prided himself on being the oldest, and was always one to stick up for his 'younger brothers'. Turns out, it was just the other way around. The scientist didn't want to meet his disapproving gaze. "There must be a mistake." Raph decided, but Donatello knew deep down that his brother had always dreamed on being the oldest alongside being the strongest. This was secretly, a dream come true for him. "I mean look at Mikey - there's no way he isn't the youngest. Do you know how old exactly we all are?"

His hands fidgeted with his belt. "No. I couldn't find any specific age, but mutant DNA emits a signal with each few years of its life, and everyone else's DNA had emitted more of these than Leonardo's." His chocolate-brown eyes fought to look up - to meet Leo's gaze, to explain how sorry he was that he'd ruined their family from the inside rather than the outside. But his mouth just kept explaining. "Raphael's had emitted the most, then mine, then Mike's and then Leo's. I noted the DNA seemed to follow a certain pattern of emitting molecules, and Leonardo's isn't as far on as the rest of them. It's safe to assume you are much, much younger than us. You're just more mature overall."

"Probably Splinter's trainin'." Raph snorted. His gaze strongly met Don's _'It's okay. He'll get over it.'_ his eyes were saying, fighting back on the panic that was promptly seizing Donnie's brain. "So I assume that makes me leader then? Finally. Sorry, Leo-"

The chairs moved, and Donnie finally shot his eyes up to find his brother standing up from the table, walking over to where his katana lay, sheathed on their weapons board. He picked them up, slinging the garment over his shoulder, securing it to his belt before turning back. His eyes were cold, but Don could just make out the signs of his brother about to cry. His heart clenched. "I'm going for a run. I'll be back soon." and he was gone; out the lair like a bullet, the door slamming as he ran.

Mikey let out a nervous giggle. "So I... have a baby brother now? Dudes, you know what this means?" He was clearly trying to pull the subject away from them almost seeing Leonardo of all turtles breaking down. "I get to act like a big brother like the rest of you - ooh, we'll watch movies, play videogames - Leo's gonna love it!"

"Maybe give Fearless a little time to settle in, Mike." Raphael stood, face contorted into a mixture of guilt and excitement. Donnie was already standing, wanting to go after his brother, but Raphael held his arm out, his gaze strong. "No, Don. Like I said, let him chill out. He'll come back, then we can all talk this out."

"When were you the calm one?" Mikey asked, not meaning to sound sarcastic or rude, but he clearly noticed the way Raph flinched.

"Because you two numb-skulls are useless in that department." He ground out, taking a Sai out of his belt to twirl around aimlessly. "I'll be in my room."

"But Raphie-" Mikey tugged on his arm, getting up from the table too, a hand placed strategically on his wrist, holding him from twirling his Sai again. "You have to help prepare me for the role! How am I supposed to be a big brother if I have never been one?"

"Maybe later, Mike." He smiled, relaxing a little, the tenseness leaving his shoulders as he pulled his hand out from under Mikey's - "Besides, it won't be much different - just do what I do."

"You mean act like a hothead? Got it!"

"Oh shut up." He smushed his hand into his younger brother's face, eyes regaining some of his usual glow. "And Donnie?"

The scientist flinched, looking at his brother guiltily. "I should've left the unknown, unknown."

"Leo will come round, D." Mikey said quietly, moving over to his older brother and looping his arms around his body, hugging him close. Raphael moved over quietly, sharing in on the same hug to comfort their smartest brother. "Just you wait, Donnie."

"Yeah." Raph's gruff voice said ever so softly. "It'll be fine."


	4. Chapter three

Leonardo couldn't hold the tears back as he sprinted down the sewer tunnels, feet slipping slightly from the overly wet grounds. A flood had happened recently, if he remembered correctly through his haze. That's why it was like this. It was just like his life though - he reached a hand to steady himself on the sewer walls, fingers running along the grooves in the brick as he sped up practically skating around each corner. His eyesight was blurry, his face contorted into pain and guilt and utter frustration.

What would Splinter think of him now?

He prided himself on being the best ninja out of the three - and it had always made sense. Splinter would pick him to do jobs he couldn't bare to see the younger three do. Would this discovery make his father feel guilty too? That the one getting hurt - getting beaten and tortured - was actually his 'precious youngest'? The one who handled the leadership, and protected his brothers, was still merely a **child** compared to his brothers?

It made it worse now knowing he could withstand all of that - yet couldn't even handle being told their true age-comparison. It hurt, a little, to know he wasn't actually the oldest. Like he'd been lied to his whole life. He wanted to go to his father, but his father had been gone for months now, his life taken by the hands of Shredder. He was all his brothers had had left - how they'd leaned on him, made him feel important and needed. That was shattered, and all because of a simple age-check. Age meant a whole lot in their family - the eldest was always expected to come through with maturity and calmness, the youngest supposed to be bouncy and care-free. To keep that innocent-mind as long as possible. Now, not only was Michelangelo losing his innocent ideologies, Leonardo had missed out on a chance to have his own. Knowing this fact early on would have saved him so many hours sobbing in the Dojo, reading leadership books, or practicing with his Sensei. He could of had a happy childhood.

But then his thoughts slid to Raphael as he began to climb the rusty, tinted-brown ladder up to one of the manholes on the south-side of the city. Raphael; he would have to train hourly - daily, non-stop even, to even begin to accomplish what Leonardo had taken years to learn. He didn't have the comfort of knowing his Sensei was there to guide him, as Leo did. He highly doubted Raphael would turn to him for help anyway. He was a stubborn teenager; the most stubborn he'd ever met.

Swiping at the growing dampening marks on his mask, he scaled a particular building's walls, jumping up and onto the rooftop. It was his favorite view - one that gave him a clear shot of the ocean. Its waves softly rumbled over the bay, the water glistening in the dimming suns light. The ships and boats alongside the dock floated quietly, bobbing to the waves rhythm like a calming melody. The people below chattering softly, the cars buzzing as they drove around the city, a glow a white among the blackening sky. A peaceful night like this, spoiled by his rotten mood.

His hands gripped the rail before him, knuckles turning white at the strength behind it. "This is stupid." He growled out, eyebrows furrowing. "Why am I so upset!"

...

Raphael removed his headphones as his door opened, scowling at the youngest- no, his mind fluttered, trying to fight against old habits, the second youngest, as he poked his head into the room. "What's up, Mike."

The orange-banded turtle looked nervous, but Raph knew it wasn't from him in particular - Mikey was never nervous around him, unless he was sprinting towards him Sais raised. "Leo hasn't come back yet."

 **Oh**. His raised an eyebrow, getting up and following his brother out the door to find Donatello below in the living room, pacing, a worried, terrified look upon his face. Raph hated it when his family worried. Worry led them no where - similar to his anger; or well, unless it was against villains, then his anger did indeed lead them somewhere. To victory. Mostly, at least. "Chill out, Donnie, for the love of all things turtle, you sure are having a real meltdown today."

"Of course I am, Raph." Snapped the purple-banded turtle, taking the older by surprise. "This is all my fault, okay? If I had just kept my big mouth shut-"

"Listen." Raphael flung himself over the railings, landing on his feet evenly. "It doesn't matter whose fault it was. Let's just go get him back. He's probably running laps in the sewers and forgot the time."

"Yeah." Donnie let out a sharp breath. "Yeah... Lead the way."

Raph reached a hand out to squeeze his brother's shoulder, looking across at Mikey, who had taken the stairs instead. The orange-banded turtle smiled weakly, eyes quite not meeting him. He too, felt guilty now. Raph ignored his own thoughts, tugging at Donnie to urge him out of the lair, Mikey following naturally. "C'mon, let's just go."

"Our weapons?" Donatello had half-a-mind among them all to stop and head back, but Raphael pushed him along.

"We don't need them - like I said, he's probably in the sewers. I think we can handle a few mice, Don."

"If you say so." Michelangelo whispered, looking back at the lair one last time before running to keep up with his older brothers.


	5. Chapter four

They'd eventually realized with a sickening feeling that Leonardo has disobeyed the rule their father had set years ago, upon them going out for the first time ever. **Never go topside by yourself**. Even if you witness someone in need of saving, you **never** go topside to help them. There were too many opportunities of an ambush, or running into something much more concerning. Mostly, everyone stuck to this rule, sticking to the shadows of the sewers for their daily walks and jogs unless they were patrolling. Raphael was the usual one to break this rule, but he'd only done it to a certain extent. They had no clue why Leonardo had gone up - but they were certain that he was not in the right frame of mind to help anyone anyway. Even himself. Not to mention now, having to retrieve their brother from the roofs above, their brother had left them with no weapons. Trust Leonardo to make finding him harder then ever.

The oldest growled, reaching a hand down to grasp onto Donnie's hand, taking him and Mikey, who was clasped to Donnie's side, up onto the building's roof. With a thump they landed, and Raph let them catch their breath. It was one of the taller buildings in the city; if you climbed it, you could see for miles upon miles. Not to mention they'd been trekking around for a good hour now. "Don." He said simply, watching as the purple-banded brother took out a small item from his belt, clicking it open to reveal night-vision goggles.

Placing them on, the smartest brother glanced around the remaining land they hadn't covered yet, zooming in on certain parts that perhaps, they would find their brother sitting or walking along.

"Where the fuck is he?" Raph snarled, hands clenched tight. This wasn't funny now, nor was it routine. They'd scowered almost the whole damn city and yet he was no-where to be seen.

"Maybe the beach." Mikey suggested from his position a top one of the beams, looking down at them before tilting a head to look in the direction of the waves, inaudible from where they were. "We haven't checked the docks yet."

"Guys." Donnie's voice spiked, fear coursing through it. He lowered the goggles, throwing them to the side. "Watch ou-"

A loud smash brought them all to their knees, Mikey falling from his beam, landing with a small 'oof!'. The building shook, and Donnie leapt backwards, face ablaze with fury that Raphael, who caught sight of him, had never seen before.

Raph busied himself by scrambling up, hands instantly going for his Sais, only to discover he'd left them behind - _'"We don't need them - like I said, he's probably in the sewers. I think we can handle a few mice, Don."'_ "Shit!" He groaned, bawling his hands up and staring right in the direction of the crumbling building wall, eyes wide and body ready to fight.

"Raph no!" The purple-banded brother cried out, trying to run towards him. There was a large cut on his face, running down his cheek. The oldest's stomach churned. "We need to go!"

Mikey fearfully grabbed a hold of Raphael's left arm, whimpering slightly. At a quick glance, he didn't look hurt, only confused and scared. "Raphie." He whispered, pointing a finger before them. "Look."

He looked up just as Donnie tackled them to the ground, the turtles narrowly avoiding a electricity-powered capturing device. "Shredder..?" The words left Raph's mouth without him realizing. His muscles tensed, and he shook Donnie off of him, clambering up swiftly to step over his brothers. "What do you want!"

"No, I think what you mean is what do **you** want." The Shredder laughed, the voice rumbling through his helmet as he also took a few challenging steps forward. "Oh Raphael, ever the rage. You never see what is right in front of you."

Something was thrown down at him, and he gasped. It was Leonardo's katana, broken, either so he couldn't use it against the Shredder now or because it was shattered during his brother's fight with their father's killer. "What. Did. You. Do."

"The same thing I'm going to do to you!" Shredder began running toward, blades stretched out. Raphael kicked the katana to the side, hearing it fall under the railing and into the city below. He gulped, also charging forward with an equal pace. They met in the middle of the rooftop, and in an instant, Raph realized his anger would not win him this battle today. If Leonardo had not won, neither would they.

A metal hand hit his chest hard, and he flew back, his body flying over the building's safety mechanisms and smashing into the advertisement screening on a nearby building, his shell connecting with a sickening thud, and he saw nothing.

"That was too easy."

"Raph!" Mikey screamed out for his older brother, eyes wide, completely focused in on his brother, begging all the gods to see him moving, to hear his voice shout out in the cold nights air _'I'm fine dumbass!'_. But there was nothing, and he let out a terrified sob.

"That's two down." Shredder said quietly, almost as if he didn't want the turtles to hear him. "Two to go."

Mikey swung around just in time to watch as an injection embedded into his skin, swiftly emptying its contents into his bloodstream. "D-Don? He has Leo..." He whispered, falling to his knees quickly, his body not responding to his command. His mouth was squeezed shut, almost as if something was holding it shut, all that escaped was a desperate cry.

"I know, Mike-" Donnie whizzed around the roof, planting himself in front of his younger brother, teeth bared. "I know."

"And what are you going to do?" The man laughed, a loud, chortling sound that made the brothers' ears ring. "I saved the weakest for last!"

The Shredder was fast approaching, and with no way to grab both of his brothers and get the shell out of there, Donnie knew his only solution was to fight. His eyes searched the rooftop, looking for something, anything, that could be used to save his life.

But he turned up empty handed. It didn't matter anyway, Shredder's fist connected with his face just as he admitted defeat. Dazed, he fell down, slumped partly over Mikey, who was still aware of his surroundings, crying out for his brother worriedly. "Don't worry, turtle." The man picked him up by the front of his shell, throwing him across the roof so he landed against a beam, the metal bending ever so slightly. "I'll put you in your place - where all animals go, you disgusting turtle-freaks."

Donnie's swelling eyes widened, and he scrambled to get up, to do something - but the fist came down onto Donnie's head before he could do much more.

He was out like a light before he could utter a word.


	6. Chapter five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to draw this chapter out to its full potential, but again with the whole 'rewrite' thing. Around chapters ten and up is where the length begins to stay the same, over 1000 words, just a heads up. So sorry!

Raphael stifled a groan of pain as he came to, hearing something rattle at he pressed his head to his hands, feeling it throb uncomfortably. That was one hit he took during that fight. He was surprised that it didn't feel like his shell was broken. Cracking open an eye, he looked around the room, breath hitching when he found all three of his brothers. Shit. Leonardo was next to him, breathing uneven and slow, and Mikey was unconscious across the room besides Donnie - who's eyes were staring right back at him.

"Raph." His voice sounded rough, and the older took notice of the bruises forming along his brother's face and neck. He didn't like what he saw. "God. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He ground out, rolling his neck to ease some of the tension there. He looked to his side at the youngest, who had dyed blood stained down his arm and head. He was asleep, it looked like, so Raphael left him for now. "What happened?"

"Shredder knocked you out, hit Mikey with some sort of... Tranquilizer, and then punched me until I was unconscious, hence the bruises. He must've found Leo before us." Donnie smiled despite the fact they were sat inside of a prison cell bound by chains like animals. "We got our asses kicked, Raphie."

"I know." He felt embarrassment rise up his neck. This was his fault - if he hadn't made such a stupid decision to leave their weapons at the lair. What kind of leader even did that? His eyes glanced over at Leo, slumped against the wall. _'Not that one'_...

"Shred-Head must have some sort of plan for us." Raph theorized, doing Leonardo and Donatello a favor by actually being helpful for once. "Otherwise we'd all be dead by now."

Donnie nodded, wincing as it tugged on his all-too-sore neck. "Yeah - I-"

He cut himself off when the prison door squeaked open, and a rich man stepped into the room, dressed in traditional Japanese clothing that would make Leo drool, though his face was anything but pretty. It was easy to tell that it was Shredder, even without the mask. Raphael wished he'd brought the fucking mask with him. He didn't want to look that man in the eye.

"Hello turtles." He smiled, his slightly diamond-encrusted fake looking teeth shining. Raphael felt like gagging. "Today I'm finally getting rid of you. An old friend of mine said he was dying for some new entertainment, and I offered your services." Raph could see Donnie tensing from across the room, his eyes betraying his true emotions; fear. "So, in exchange for, how much did he pay? Twenty million dollars? - For you all-" His hand danced around the room, pointing to each and every one of them like they were toys. He pressed a finger to Leonardo's head, and Raph let out an animalistic growl. "-to be part of his zoo for endangered and rare animals!"

"What!" The oldest fought his chains, trying to get up - to punch that smug look off of the man's face. "Hell no - the fuck am I going to a zoo!"

"Well, tough luck Raphael." He said smugly, walking over and crouching down besides the red-banded turtle to see right into his fiery eyes. "And luckily for you all, my friend is coming over today to inspect you - how fun!"

With that, and a swish of his cloak, the Shredder was gone, leaving them alone to dwell with the information bestowed upon them.


	7. Chapter six

Leo let out a low whimper against his will, his body aching and fighting to remain under the influence of unconsciousness. His body felt heavy, a slow, throbbing pulse throughout him that made him want to curl up and sleep just a little longer. Why did everything hurt? His mind was foggy, drugged up on pain and exhaustion as he fought to remember.

_His breath hitched as he moved his body tiredly along the rooftops, mind flashing with images of his death - either by falling to the ground and smashing his skull open, or here, being hunted down by foot-ninja. Unsheathing his last available katana, he sliced through the first row of villains before him, the machinery spluttering to a halt as he slid past them, leaving them to all fall off the building. If Shredder was caught for using illegal robots, so what. He couldn't hold Leonardo to that._

_What felt like a boulder smashed into his left arm and chest, his already depleting oxygen leaving him momentarily. Winded, he fell to the floor, eerily missing falling over the edge by just a fraction. He growled, pulling himself up again; he couldn't die now. Not after storming out the lair like that. He needed to say sorry to Donnie - to hangout with Mikey - to get to know Raph just a little bit more-_

_"Leonardo."_

_That voice - the turtle tried to look up, but something else came down on his head, slamming it into the concrete of the rooftop with a sickening crack. His eyes watered, and he began to struggle more, pulling at the floor with his bruised, colourful knuckles. A foot, he thinks he sees, comes crashing down, stomping on his hand roughly, enjoying the way he cried out and curled his fingers in an attempt to shield them. That same foot kicked at his chest, and he rolled with the force of it, wheezing heavily as he did so._

_"You really think you can defeat me? Like this?" Another kick, this time making him lay on his back rather than his stomach. The foot pressed down on his plastron forcefully, and Leonardo's hands, by default, wrapped around the leg, clawing and scratching at the metal frantically. "Disgusting. You even fight like an animal."_

_"Ack!" The foot pressed harder, and now even his legs were trying to scrape at the thing stopping him from breathing. Tiny dots began to form in the corner of his eyes, closing in like a predator to prey._

_The last thing he heard, whispered almost against his ear, was a quiet - **"Just like your father."**_

"Leo?" That was Donatello's voice - a calm in this ever-growing storm. (When did they end up here with him? It felt like days since he'd been awake - surely it hadn't been that long?) He must have heard him cry out. Leo's brows furrowed with the agony, but he didn't open his eyes. "Raph, check him please-"

"On it." There was a shuffling noise off to his right, and a hand suddenly came down on his shoulder, prodding and pressing against his skin as he swiped what Leo assumed was the blood stains off of him. He winced as the older turtle picked up one of his shackled hands, hearing him emit what sounded like a vocalization of his own inner turmoil; he must've looked bad for Raphael to sound like that. "He looks like shit, Don." His voice was filled with pain and guilt, and Leonardo's heart clenched. "What did they even do to him?"

"I don't know - I just found him like that when I woke up. Why couldn't they have put me next to him - I could **help** him god dammit-"

"Donnie." So that was Raphael's leader voice that Leo had had yet to hear. His stomach coiled horribly. "There wasn't anything you could do, okay?" Raphael's hand never left his shoulder, rubbing soothing patterns into the bruised skin. "The most he looks is bruised. I don't think Shredder -whatever he did- hurt him too badly."

"You think so?" Leo breathed out, cracking open an eye once his energy was high enough to do so. Raphael's piercing green eyes were the first thing he met, filled with nothing but concern. "Feels like I got run over."

"You probably did." Donatello breathed out a sigh of relief, and Leo shakily turned his head towards his brother. A smile was given in return. "I'm sorry - I... I thought you were never going to wake up."

Raph chuckled. "We, I quote, 'got our shells kicked' - we assumed the same happened to you too."

"Yeah." He said quietly, voice raw. "Yeah, absolutely kicked." He swallowed harshly, throat aching and dry. "So, any... any idea what we're-we're here for?"

"I'll fill you in-"

...

"A zoo?" Leo couldn't actually believe the words his brothers were telling him. Shredder was cruel, but even he knew revealing them to the city could have long-lasting effects on even him. Maybe that's what he wanted - but Leonardo just couldn't fathom why. Why not kill your enemies when you had the chance - the blue-banded turtle wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for Shredder's mercy, and he knew with a sickening feeling it was the same for his brothers.

"Yeah." Raph leant back, face scowling. "The dude who's gonna come 'buy us''ll be here soon - Don wants us to act like animals. You got that?"

Leo nodded, though that enticed stars to dance along his vision. "Yeah." He muttered, curling his knees up to rest his aching head in between. "Got it."

He could practically hear Donatello's mind buzzing again, but he willed his brother to change the subject, which he thankfully did. "Mikey was awake earlier - he fell asleep just a little before you woke up. The drugs seem to be wearing off on him."

"That's good." Leo broke out a small smile. At least Michelangelo wasn't too badly hurt. There was a hand-shaped bruise resting on his upper arm, but that thankfully seemed to be it. "I-"

The door creaked open, and his brothers tensed alongside him, eyes blinking at the change of light as the framed metal opening was pushed agape, revealing Shredder alongside four identical ninja-medics. That was odd - weren't most of their ninjas robotic? 'Oh well', Leonardo mused, his toes curling anxiously even just thinking about them laying a hand on him or his brothers, but he fought to relax himself, 'just more help for us I suppose'.

Leonardo's eyesight of his brothers got smaller and smaller as the medic incharge of him drew closer. Their hand wrapped around his chin and pulled it forwards slightly-roughly, dabbing an antiseptic wipe along the different cuts that ranged across his face. He winced, but the man only held him tighter, nothing like Raphael's calming touch at all. "Sit still, freak." They muttered, clearly wanting the same thing as the blue-clad turtle - as far away as possible from the other person. His hands slid down his shoulders, feeling for broken bones. His hand glazed over his hands, and Leo couldn't help but yelp, hearing Raph growl besides him protectively. "Ah, sir-"

Leo's heart seized. "What." Came Shredder's cold, dead voice, just beyond the blue-clad turtle's eyesight..

"His hands look fractured, broken at worst." His mouth downturned into a frustrated frown, and Leo shrunk from the look. "What do you want me to do, sir?"

"Just bandage them up." Snarled the man, clearly displeased with what he had done to the turtle. Leonardo had half the brain to fight against his chains and growl at the man 'this is your fault!' but he did not, glaring into the medics shirt as bandages were tightly applied to his fingers and wrapped up his wrists, his original, traditional bandaging forgotten as it was cut off, laying in a heap on the floor. Leo's eyes burned - that was a present from his deceased father. Now it was gone.

Just as quickly as it had come, the man was done, slouching to pick up the soiled fighting bandages, tucking them carelessly into his pocket, grabbing his supplies and heading back out among his friends, who were already finished and waiting for him.

"My friend, Charlie, will be here soon." Shredder paid none of them any mind, speaking as if none of them were capable of speech or understandment. "Be on your best behaviour."

The door slammed shut.

...

Leo awoke to the sounds of Raphael growling again, and a hand on his face. Blinking his eyes open, he was met face to face with the person he assumed to be Charlie, alongside Shredder, who was dressed in normal attire, completely relaxed and at ease. Clearly this man had no clue who exactly the Shredder was. His fingers danced along Leonardo's face before pulling back in momentary-shock. "It's okay." Shredder said from behind him, urging him on. "This one isn't deadly - it's the others you have to worry about." His voice dripped with amusement, clearly taunting the turtle knowing full well that out of them all, he was least likely to attack a civilian.

"Oh really?" The hand returned, warm against his already hot skin. Raph was glaring at the man - Leo could see him out the corner of his eye, teeth bared. Raphael took none of his brothers' safety as a joke - he clearly worried for the youngest's safety in this moment, and Leo couldn't help but feel a little warm inside at the gesture. "His skin is so weird."

_'You'll be a great older brother. I see that now.'_

"They are turtle-type apes, so it's safe to assume that yes, they'll have weird features to them. I assume you'll keep me updated with their conditions and your advances in knowledge of their species, correct?"

 _'So Shredder would know if they escape.'_ The skin around Leo's eyes tightened. _'So be it. That won't stop us.'_.

"Correct - and I'll do you one better; I'll double my fee!"

The devilishly low rumble coming from Shredder's voice was as disgusting to Leonardo as Shredder himself; "Lovely."


	8. Chapter seven

The car journey may have been worse in the long-run than the fight itself.

Raphael was constantly trying to batter the side of the vehicle with his shell, ramming himself again and again into the metal, to no avail. The oldest kept slipping on each turn and twist of the road, falling back down onto his shell before clasping the soft hay underneath him and continuing until he had no fight left in him. Leonardo was curled up in-between Michelangelo's legs, his head on his brother's chest, hands tucked safely between them both to keep them from being squashed under Raphael's escape attempts. Mikey was awake now, gently running a soft hand against his brother's shell in an attempt to calm both himself and the blue-banded turtle.

Leonardo had, at first, been just as eager as Raphael to try to escape once they were loaded up, however he had been injected with something, which Donnie had labelled _'most likely a mild-sedative to help with the pain'_. He wasn't loopy of the sorts, but he lay silently in the orange-clad turtle's grasp, body lax and leaning heavily on him. Donatello himself had been staring out the tiny window they had, watching as car by car drove past them, unaware of what lay within. He had already tried to break the glass, but it was built practically bulletproof, and the only end result was him scratching his shell and bruising his knuckles. So he'd resorted to looking out instead; the sun was shining, glimmering over the passing countryside, unlike nothing Donnie had ever seen before. It was peaceful, even with the sound of honking horns - though, that one was a comfort to him personally. It reminded him of the city; _'we'll get back soon.'_ Leo had promised him while they had been stuck in that inferno. _'We can do it.'_

Donatello risked a look over at his brothers. Raphael had retreated over to his younger siblings, guiding Mikey's head to rest on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around Leonardo's limp form to steady him against them both, the turtle in blue still wrapped tightly in Mikey's own arms. "Don." The oldest's eyes met his, piercing green ever calming to the smarter turtle. "Just come sit."

His eyes fluttered over to Leo, looking over him - his hands, his shell- "I can't."

"Hamato Donatello." Oh no; his full name. Don looked down awkwardly, shuffling on his feet, reaching out a hand to grip onto the singular bar at the back of the truck to steady himself. "If you don't get your sorry ass here right now I'll hit you so hard you'll break that door for us."

"Coming." He muttered, walking over and slumping himself next to Mikey, leaning slightly to press his head to his sleeping brother's shoulder. Leonardo was so close to him, he breath ghosting over his face softly as he slept-off the drugs pumping through his system. "I didn't mean to hurt him."

"You didn't."

"I didn't mean to hurt our family."

"You didn't - god, Don, don't you get what 'you didn't' means?" He couldn't see Raph from where he was, but he could feel the anger bubbling. He winced. "I assure you, for the love of Shredder, you didn't do shit. Stop complaining about yourself. We need you to focus, alright?"

"Yeah." Despite being scolded like a young child, he surprisingly felt much better, and it was easier to fall asleep after truly realizing none of them blamed him. Perhaps there were some hard feelings, but overall, he had done nothing wrong. "Thanks, Raphie."

"Anytime."

...

Their enclosure wasn't anything small of strange.

The walls stretched high, accompanied by ropes, platforms and swings; the equivalent to a mutant-turtle sized 'playground'. The platforms held things from toys to fruit, and one of the very top platforms held a large, leafed-over hut. Below that all, there was a gorgeous waterfall on the far side of the room, stretching to one side of the glass, where the water became part of a diving pool. Bushes, trees, plants, the lot of it, was dabbled across the open ground below them - there was also a large feeding dish, alongside what looked to be a nesting material bowl.

Leonardo hadn't been allowed to even see unlike the rest of them. While his brothers had been pushed into the enclosure, he had been held back, still drugged-up from before, and led, caged, into a brightly-lit room. Blue eyes squinting against the onslaught of light, he barely felt them maneuver him onto a cold, metal table and strap his limbs down tightly. He felt the panic, there nestled among the calmness the drug enabled him to be, and he didn't fight it, letting his nervousness drain and be replaced with a more relaxed stance. There was no need for him to be drugged up again if they felt he was scared.

"Look at him." A woman crooned as she began unwrapping the bandages wrapped around his hands, adjusting the strap so he couldn't even feel it against his skin, holding his hand out on a board; "X-ray please - clear."

A small shutter of sound echoed into his ears, and his arm was moved back down, the woman pausing, as if looking at something. "Sarah - Scaphoid is fractured, and it appears the metacarpal too."

"Got it, James strap his arm in the bandages please; it'll reduce the swelling and hopefully heal those nasty fractures. You really did a number on yourself, didn't you boy?" She pet him on the head softly as she walked by, finger glazing over his blue bandanna; she smiled. "I love the bandannas - who's idea was it for them to wear them?"

"I think the person who owned them before. Said they like wearing them." Someone else said from behind him, and Leo squeezed his eyes shut. There were too many people, the panic was coming back, still dampened by the drugs, but nonetheless there. "Right hand ready for X-ray?"

"Almost - April, stand by his head to keep his view away from me moving his arm. I think the drugs are wearing off - we need to work quickly, he's getting distressed."

He opened his eyes to find a young woman, barely older than a teenager, he assumed, standing nervously by his head, although her eyes held adoration for being so close to him. Their eyes met - blue against blue, and she relaxed slightly, as did he. "He's so adorable with his little blue bandanna!" She paused, excitement rising. "That's it! Little blue!"

"What?" James, the person wrapping his left hand, looked up, confused. "Are you feeling okay, April?"

"No, well, yes- that's what we should call him; Little blue." Her eyes shone up at the man, and in turn, he smiled. "You agree with me don't you - I can see you do."

"I think it's a cute nickname, yes. Little blue it is." He agreed, finishing wrapping his arm and walking over to his otherside, beginning to wrap whatever mess he had accomplished on that side of his body. "We'll need to name the others soon too." He added nonchalantly, hands practically unfeelable on Leonardo's skin as he worked.

"Yeah. That can be a group decision, but this little guy is just so cute, I had to name him before anyone else did - don't you remember the last name we gave to a blue-themed animal?"

"Oh don't get me started. Casey is ridiculous at naming." Came the chortled reply, before his arm was pat comfortingly; "Well, I'm all done now."

"Just as well - wow, Ape, James, I didn't know you hated my naming skills so much." Came a deadpan voice from the corner. Leonardo turned his head slightly to view a man walking in through the door, pouting like a child. "I trusted you both."

James laughed. "Hey don't look at me, he's your problem- I've got a crane to look at now; yeah, I know you already know who it is from those looks. **Yes** , the same crane from before got his foot stuck in a rabbit hole. They think it's just a sprain though, but I best be off." He patted Leo's arm again. "See you soon, Blue."

"See you, James." The two other humans called after him. "Also for the record, Casey, it's not you as a whole I'm hating on, only your naming abilities."

"As the only zookeeper who's fought lions before, I think I should be able to name the animals... Did I mention I fought lions before?"

"You mention it every time." She deadpanned, reaching a hand to stoke along the blue-banded turtle's chin. "But each time it fails to woo me. It's just weird, and stupid." So they were in a relationship? Leo snorted at the audacity. Humans; he never understood them.

Casey let out a huff, coming closer to the turtle and leaning over to get a good look at him. His skin was tanned and healthy, and his eyes were a soft golden brown, similar to that of Donatello's. He was grinning down at him, and April nudged him with her elbow, groaning. "Don't do that, you look like a serial killer, you'll scare the poor guy."

"Fine, **mom**. Anywho - soooo, how old are these lot?" He kept his distance, thankfully, not seeming to want to touch him as much as April did. "Also he's jacked, what the hell-"

"Lilly was running some tests about them. This one, supposedly, is fourteen." She stopped stroking patterns into his skin, the area numb when she pulled her hand back. "They reckon the Orange one is fifteen, and the two others sixteen. We aren't sure who exactly is older; I'd like to say the Purple one. He's built like a giant last time I checked, but you never know with animals."

_'Fourteen, huh. And to think all my life I thought I was sixteen. A whole two years of my life that just never existed.'_

"True. I haven't seen the rest of them yet, so you'll have to show them to me later. Is this one the smallest then? He's pretty big for being small."

"Well, we haven't seen them standing next to each other, but I'd like to assume yes, or at least the same height as the orange-turtle."

"Gotcha. When's he going back to them all then?"

"Soon - we're waiting for Charlie to arrive to look him over."

As if the man was waiting outside, Charlie flooded through the door, adjusting his glasses and looking at the turtle with glee. "Doctor O'Neil, Mr. Jones." He greeted, smile bright as he practically jogged over, his walk a splitting image of some happy crackhead wandering the streets at dusk. Leo couldn't help but want to smile, but he remembered Raphael's words; _'"The dude who's gonna come 'buy us''ll be here soon - Don wants us to act like animals. You got that?"'_

_'Yeah - I've got it alright.'_

...

He ended up spending most of his time waiting for the two new lovebirds to finish talking to let him go back. The scientist mentioned earlier, Lilly, was at Charlie's side, rambling on about some of her findings to the man, clearly lovestruck. It reminded him of a game Raphael had made him play once. One where you played as a young girl in a school, and your job was to get rid of opposition to secure your true love. She was acting a bit like that right now, similar to how Karai had acted to him once. He had shut her down instantly, but the memories of Raphael teasing him about it flooded back, heat rising to his face almost automatically.

"Well as much as I could stare at this wonderfully new creature forever." Leonardo wasn't even sure Charlie was talking about him anymore. "It would be best to return him to his group. What is his given name, may I ask?"

April coughed uncomfortably; She didn't want to be here either it seems. Leo didn't blame her. "Little Blue."

"Well then - let's get _Little Blue_ back home."

...

Even with how much Raphael had punched the wall, he hadn't even made a dent, similar to the vehicle situation. Growling, he kicked at the dirt, storming over to his brothers with a scowl on his face, wanting nothing more in this moment than his brother back, and his punching bag at the same time. "Raph, please-"

"No, Donnie." He snarled; voice dripping with rage and worry. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "They have Leo - we promised ourselves we wouldn't get separated again - who knows what they're doing to him? And we can't even help him!"

"They won't be doing anything harsh to him bro, that isn't how a zoo works." Mikey comforted, hopping up from where he was sat next to the tallest brother. "You just gotta relax, my dude. Leo'll be here soon, just you watch!"

As if on cue, a door on the far side of the room, hidden in-between leaves and bushes opened. The turtles took a warning step back, tense and still; waiting. Something was guided into their enclosure, and was gently placed among the soft grass. The humans stepped back, and the door locked again, bolting multiple times before eventually falling silent.

 _"Do you think it's food?"_ Mikey chirped in Japanese, moving to the more-familiar language from habit.

 _"No."_ Donnie said back in the same language, hoisting himself up. _"The food bowls are full, remember?"_ He took a tentative step forward, but Raphael's arm stopped him. _"What-"_

_"I'll check - stay here."_

Raphael swiftly moved to the other side of the room, letting out a sigh of relief. _"It's Leo- you awake, bro?"_

"Hmm." Came the mumbled response. _"Comin' off some sort of drug. Gimme a sec-"_ Raphael scooped him up, earning him a yelp, and began moving him across the enclosure to the furthest corner from the door. "Alright, you can put me-" He was dropped with a thump, and he looked up, annoyed, at Raphael, who grinned down at him. _"Why are we even speaking Japanese?"_

 _"Because humans in New York don't speak Japanese last time I checked."_ Donnie said quietly, walking over and crouching besides Leonardo; _"How're you feeling?"_

 _"Paralyzed."_ He said honestly. _"I don't know if it was a pain-reducing drug or they simply just didn't want me moving anytime soon."_

 _"Probably a mix of both."_ Donnie smiled, poking his cheek where it was still tingling from the touch of the Doctor before. _"with the way you're moving, I'd say they gave you a lot. That'll wear off in a few hours at least. Since you can still talk, however, any useful information you can tell us? Exits, people, ect?"_

 _"Aside from relationships, I haven't seen much."_ Leonardo's body, which he could half control, shuddered for effect. _"But they're nicknaming us - I've been dubbed 'Little Blue'; and if any of you call me that, I will shove your face into that waterfall. Raph, I think they were thinking of naming you Edge because they've been watching you punch a wall for the past hour or something?"_ Raphael gave a cheeky grin, squatting down next to him. _"I'll take that as a yes then."_

"Ooooh, oooh, what's mine, what's mine!"

_"Mikey, Japanese!" <\em> Donnie warned, very-uncharacteristic, but the younger winced and nodded, understanding immediately. _"Go on, Leo."__

__"Donnie, yours appears to be based on your height; Stretch, and Mikey's is Orange - or well, that's what they seem to call you anyway."_ _

He could just feel the chuckles rising from Raphael's lungs. _"Like the show! Annoying Orange!"_


	9. Chapter eight

Leonardo ended up falling asleep quite early compared to his brothers. It was to be expected, and was slightly enjoyed in the moment of it by the turtle himself, until he ended up staring at the ceiling with tired, dry eyes, having woken up far earlier than anyone else. Donatello had been stuck to his side, as was Mikey, and he had to peel them both off with his still-numb arms, hopping up silently, watching in fond amusement as they quickly filled the gap by pulling the other to them. Michelangelo was drooling slightly, but besides that, Leo didn't think Don minded the unusual closeness.

Speaking of the brainiac, Donnie opened a bleary eye, looking him up and down, shaking his head a little when his eyes drooped every few seconds; "W'erz y'u goin', Leo?"

"Just going to stretch my legs." He assured, reaching a hand out to squeeze his older brother's shoulder. His mind blanked; 'older brother...' "I'll... be back in a sec, Don."

His brown eyes slowly slipped shut, and his breathing began to even out. "Pr'mis'?"

"Promise."

Donatello leaned back slightly and finally began to doze back off, and Leo let go of his shoulder, standing up and stretching his worn-out legs. The bruises from his lost-battle remained ever present, even if he couldn't really see them in the dark. They were sore, and despite the attack being random and uncoordinated, Shredder really hit hard in the most painful places. His shoulders ached, alongside the points in which skin met shell. Rolling his numb arms back and forth to rid the cramps no doubt starting to form while simultaneously trying to ease the deadened feeling along the limbs, Leo began to walk around. Since he had been practically paralyzed yesterday, he hadn't had a chance to fully explore the area given to them by the humans.

The first thing he did was grab some of the food left out for them - none of them had had any mind to try some of it; they hadn't been that hungry, but for someone who felt like Sleeping beauty's nephew, a little bit of food never hurt anyone. It tasted funny - an unfamiliar flavour laying on the tip of his tongue; sour and salty. He poked his tongue out, quickly gulping down a few more pellets before exceeding his limit of the foul taste and beginning to move onwards.

Although he was keen to explore every inch of the enclosure, he was drawn to a small light just outside of the enclosure, past the glass windows keeping them hostage. He couldn't see it from where he was stanced on the ground, and so he got to work. Eyeing up a perch near to the glass, he used a mixture of his chin and legs to propel and grab the wood, feeling his arms flop against him uselessly. It took him a moment to be able to pull himself up onto the platform, however he succeeded, and took in every inch more that he could see of the room. Raphael, which he hadn't noticed before somehow, seemed to have found a large hammock, built to withstand at least two of them, and was dozing peacefully in it, not too far from where Mikey and Donnie where. Smiling softly, he turned his attention back towards the glass.

It was only a fire-light. Nothing too amazing - however it did just faintly light up a clock nearby. Three in the morning. Leonardo wasn't surprised at all with himself; fall asleep early, rise even earlier. It was one of the few things he couldn't decide whether he hated or loved about himself. Looking back at the situation before him, he noted that under the clock stood a door, what looked to be the staff-only entrance. He shifted slightly to inch himself closer to the pane, pressing his face against it to get a better look. He swore the doorknob was shifting.

Suddenly, without warning, the door did indeed fling open, and a bustling man came through. Leonardo's eyes boggled in shock, his earlier assumption being correct; what was someone doing here at three in the morning! Behind the man was a wheelie cart, holding what looked to be cleaning equipment. An employee? Here? **Now**?

 _'You've got to be pulling my tail.'_ He groaned, leaning back on his haunches as the human walked back, the man flinching when he looked up and came eye to eye with Leonardo. _'The things these employees must have to do is unreal. This whole **company** is just unreal.'_

Preferring not to look at the man who was swiftly mopping the floor just outside of their enclosure, he turned his gaze back onto the water. There were no calming ripples of waves, nor the reflection of the dying sun. Leo felt about as dead as that very water. He could jump into it - give it some light while burning some energy he had pent up, but the thought of there being a window under the water, which he'd known from documentaries being there, made him heavily dislike the thought. Besides; his bandages couldn't get wet. Well maybe they were water-proof; considering this enclosure's design, he'd highly say yes, which means he could effectively go swimming. He still probably wouldn't. He preferred these ropes - if his arms would just work-

A grumble - almost silent among the quiet night - made his thoughts stop. His breath hitched, and he waited, tense, ready to spring down below to protect his brothers before- The same sound came again, this time louder. Leonardo could easily recognize his brother, Raph's sleeping noises. Little shuffled and grunts he used to do as turtle-tots all the time. Glancing over at said turtle, his mouth upturned in a barely-concealed grin and Raphael tossed and turned, the mammock moving, shaking, swinging before-

The red-banded turtle was flung from the contraption, landing in the water with an undesigned yelp of shock. Leonardo couldn't help but laugh, trying to muffle it so as to not wake the others. Raphael quickly surfaced, grumbling to himself once more before he caught sight of Leo perched on the platform above. "Shut it, Fearless. Not a word." He snapped, not making eye contact when Leonardo only laughed harder, breath becoming wispy and ragged before ceasing. 

Wiping a hand over his eye, he giggled slightly before looking back over at his brother. The older was drying himself off using large leafs placed around their enclosure, and he looked like he was about to stab someone. Particularly him, or the man who made that hammock. Or both. "Change the subject?" He suggested, shrugging as he bit the inner side of his cheek.

"Yeah, change it to how the hell did you go from being paralyzed to being able to move almost fine? How'd you get up there, doofus?"

"Magic." He poked his tongue out, feeling extra bouncy for no particular reason. "Wanna help me get to the top - I mean, look at that hut - it looks awesome!"

Raphael's own eyesight looked up and met the den his brother was talking about. He snorted. "Bet you I could carry your sorry ass up there myself, noodle arms."

Leo's eyes filled with mirth, and he shakily stood. "I'd like to see you try, tomato-face."

Turns out he could - Leo ended up in his brother's grip, smirking as Raph gasped for a breath. "It's good exercise." He pointed out as the red-clad turtle put him down, taking a moment to lean against the huts interior walls before coming to sit next to him. The youngest's arms were slowly becoming more aware and adjusted, and he flexed his fingers a little, feeling them tingle uncomfortably. "It's also a nice view."

"As nice as it gets inside a cage." Came the hot response; Raphael's brows furrowed. "But the people below can't see us as that easily. It's nice as it is useful."

The two sat in peaceful silence for a while, the only sounds was the light running of water down the rocks as it trickled its way into the pool. They spent most of their time watching the cleaning staff - it was still amazing to Leonardo, how a human could wake up so early. He only looked at their tired eyes with pity, whereas Raphael had a more open approach, staring them down every time one of them even dared to look at them both. The workers would stare for a brief moment, quickly become embarrassed, and look away again, Raph smirking just a little more each time, which to the unsuspecting human, probably looked quite threatening.

"Gh." Leo snorted, body still feeling ridiculously drugged and relaxed, even with the pain of pulled muscles and bruises. He rolled over to the edge of the den, peering over the edge. He would've been afraid of being so high without being in control of two of his limbs, but he found it in himself not to care at the moment. Especially with Raph by his side. "What time is it, Raph? There's a clock by the door outside the glass-"

Raphael pulled himself up, twisting his head around outside the hut to see said clock. "Six." He reported back. "Don and Mike'll wake up soon."

"Yeah - actually, right now by the looks of things."

The red-clad turtle came and looked down along with his brother, the two pairs of eyes quickly finding the two turtles nestled among the grass and leaves. Donnie had half an eye open, and he blearily rubbed at it, reaching out over his head, hand fumbling, as if looking for something.

"Coffee??" They heard him groan, and while Leo had managed to hold in his giggle, Raph had not, a sharp sound that cut right through their ears and clearly by the looks of things, sprung Donatello awake. The purple-banded turtle's head snapped up - "Oh. Hi Leo, Raph." He didn't look amused. "You speak of that again, I'll drown you in that waterfall."

This only caused Leonardo to lose his cool finally. He let out a deep wheeze, face scrunched up from trying to hold it back. "That's what Raph said to me earlier!"

"You said you wouldn't talk of it!" Screeched Raphael as he plunged towards his younger brother, pinning him down and leaning over him triumphantly. "Don, help me carry him to the water!"

Donatello giggled, all the anger simply left behind. "I've seen Leo mad, and I don't want to tempt him to attack me - he may be silent-"

"But he's deadly-" Came another voice, and Michelangelo yet out a loud, thunderous noise, supposedly representing the highlight of the joke - a fart. He blew the raspberry-like sound from his lips, then stuck his tongue out at the two above them for extra measure. "Y'all why do I never get woken up for the good stuff?"

The purple-banded brother shoved the younger one, smiling softly. "Because little baby needs his nap time, doesn't he? Don't want him getting grouchy."

"If anyone's 'little baby', it's Leo!" He whined, poking his immediate older brother and jumping onto the ropes, swinging around and off back onto the ground, laughing when the taller turtle followed suit, trying to grab a hold of him and pin him to the floor.

 _'Yeah. **Me**.'_ Leo felt his eyes burn, and even if he moved a little closer to Raphael after he had unpinned him from their own play-fight, the red-banded brother didn't say anything. _'Not you anymore, huh, Mike?'_

"Alrighty, enough of the puppy-play." Raph propelled himself forwards using his legs, jumping from the nest, doing a backwards flip and sticking the landing against the dirt. He smirked. "The real wolves have entered now."

"Oooh, it is **on** my man-"

"Guys." Leo cut him off, frowning. Something had caught his eye, and they followed his gaze to the glass area separating them from society. There was a small team of humans there; ranging from vets, to zookeepers to anyone else, really. A bustling group, they had to admit. Most of them were casting glances in the turtles direction, each holding a notebook, or a laptop in hand. Odd... "What do you think they're doing?"

Donnie's eyebrows furrowed, and he moved closed, hoisting himself up and onto the nearest platform to the glass, similar to the one Leonardo had sat on earlier. "Not sure..."

"Are they alright with humans?"

It was hard at first to understand what they were saying, but as it became more and more apparent, it was clear they were talking about them. "No and yes." A young girl responded, fiddling with her long, silky brown hair. "We haven't begun looking too far into it, however the Blue turtle has shown signs of being alright with humans." She looked over at him, smiling up at him from where he was balanced on the top of the den. It was at an awkward angle, and Leo wished she hadn't tried to make eye-contact with him. "The red turtle is our only real problem at the minute - he tried denting the walls when one of them was away from the enclosure earlier. It would be best to not let him be introduced to humans yet."

"So it's decided then?" One of the men at the back piped up, and the turtles cocked their heads in confusion. "It's a good plan - I do thank you for being here to help, Mr McCarthy."

"Ah, it's my pleasure." The older man smiled. "I don't get paid for nothing, young lad."

Coughing (or so it seemed - Leonardo really had to work on his lip reading abilities) to get the groups attention. "So it has been settled. We shall be taking Little Blue to meet the public."

Wait. Leo's tired eyes widened. _' **What??** '_


	10. Chapter nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT 
> 
> This chapter, when I rewrote it (20/11/2020) may have not even happened - I was almost mugged/kidnapped/I'm not even sure:
> 
> Basically I'd been needing to take a train, train was cancelled due to it hitting someone, I was stuck in a half-familiar place with no where to go, due to covid19, and a dead phone. I ended up outside a mcdonalds after being chased by some man who ran when he saw me enter the store, so I stayed close. I managed to charge my phone using my laptop and am now safe and sound - thank the fucking lord. I'd say thank you to all the souls who helped me find my way home, but humanity really failed me there - no one stopped to ask if I was okay; a short, shaking, teen who looks about 10. Humans, man, who needs em. 
> 
> That's why this chapter is a little shorter compared to the others - I was very shaken about it.

All the group snapped their heads to look up at Leonardo. He breathed out roughly, trying to act sleepy and tired, although his mind was screaming; _'No, no I don't want to go again - not again!'_

Raphael took off with a growl, jumping onto the platforms and ropes and skillfully making his way into the den, hopping through the hole and looking down at his brother. "It's alright." He was practically cooing, reaching a hand out to pat his shoulder; "We won't let them take you."

The smaller nodded, and he suddenly felt the need to be close to his older brother, to know he wasn't alone. He sure felt like it right now.

"Guys-" Donnie called out, voice heightened with worry. "Did any of you eat any of the food they left out for us the other day?"

Leo's heart stopped, and he felt Raph shudder next to him from his brother's sudden, dead posture. "W-What?"

"They put sedatives in the food - They're hoping to grab Leo from us once we're all down!"

"I did." He whispered, and Raphael turned to look at him, green eyes wide. He had been wondering why his arms hadn't gotten back to normal yet - he was still being affected by drugs running through his system. _'Dammit'_ \- "Raph, I did-"

Arms locked around him in a crushing hug - one Leonardo realized was one to try and keep him awake; "Let's get you down from here." Raphael couldn't contain his worry, and his eyes betrayed the anxiety rippling from his mind. "I'm worried you'll fall; Mike!"

"Coming, Raphie!" Yelled his brother, and the ropes vibrated as he pulled himself upwards, coming to rest on the one just outside of the den. His eyes widened at the younger's shaky form - how his head rested in the crook of their older brother's neck, eyes dilated and half closed as he fought the drugs beginning to overrun his system once more. "Oh Leo..."

"Help me get him down - Just make sure he doesn't fall off my back."

Michelangelo nodded fiercely, sheltering a hand on Leonardo's shell as the turtle was guided onto Raphael's own. "You got this, Leon." The nickname was new and fresh on his tongue, and to be honest, Mikey kind of liked the sound of it. "Don't let go, yeah?"

The leader grunted, taking a hold of the ropes and hoisted himself up, feeling Leo's weight change his balance ever-so slightly. The turtle's hands weren't as tight as Raphael would've wanted, and his arms were clammy where his limbs were wrapped around his neck. They quickly made their way to the floor, where Raphael carried his brother into the nearby bushes, sheltering him from the humans that were bound to be watching them.

Leo's body hit the floor with a small thump, and, as Donatello rushed over, the red-banded turtle could see the fear leaking through his brother's eyes - like an open tap of a sort. The sheer terror of being forced away from his brothers again must be kicking in. Leo always did have a soft spot for social interaction. "It's okay, bro." Mikey whispered, patting his head in a calming fashion, face trying hard not to show how angry he was; and after all these years of knowing the orange-banded brother, Raphael knew by far that this anger was by far the biggest rival to his own hot temper. "We're here."

"Not... again." The blue-clad turtle ground out, trying to push himself up, his body's functions diminishing by the second. "Don't... wanna..."

"I know." Donnie spoke from behind his other brothers, pushing past them gently and kneeling down to look eye-to-eye with their youngest. "But we won't leave you - if you pass out, they've got to get through us first before they can take you."

His deep-blue eyes drooped again, but he snapped them awake. Donatello placed a comforting three-fingered hand on Leonardo's shoulder, squeezing it earlier like he had done to Donnie to soothe him. A lump formed in the base of the smaller turtle's throat. "Just sleep. We've got this."

 _'I trust you, Donnie.'_ Leo's body finally shut down, and he felt Raphael's own enclose on him, holding him tightly. _'Even if you don't quite trust yourself.'_


	11. Chapter ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloe, for reference, is the young girl Leonardo meets during 'Slash and destroy' in the TMNT series of 2012. The flashback scene of Leonardo's can be found in the TMNT 2003 series 'Tales of Leo'. I've switched both these ideas up and given them a little bit of depth, but that is about it.
> 
> Also, for future reference, I do not use Ocs. I never will - these characters will simply come and go, like Chloe does here.

Leo broke out a jaw-breaking yawn, reaching a hand to blearily swipe at his eyes, blue, tired pupils opening to find nothing but darkness. At first, his brain didn’t quite comprehend his situation. **Dark**? No, it shouldn’t be dark. It was still early in the morning when he had last been awake. Blinking a little to clear his eyesight, he reached a hand out into the dark, palm pressing against something hard only a mere inch away from his head. His fingers instantly picked up on the familiar feel of wood on skin, and he withdrew his hand, clenching it into a fist before punching the barrier before him. Nothing. 

Finally deciding to uncurl himself, he tried stretching his legs, only to be met halfway by another plank of wood, surrounding all four sides of him. Growling in frustration, he palmed again and the wood, nails scraping across the splinters and wrinkles in the new bark that just didn’t seem to dent it. 

_‘Shit.’_ Leonardo wasn’t the one to swear in any usual circumstance, but this seemed like a good time. _‘Where am I - what’s happening?’_

He let out a whine despite himself - he knew, reminding himself of Raphael and Donatello’s firm plans, that he shouldn’t reveal himself, however he was **scared** and drugged and he didn’t **like** it. “Oh, baby.” Cooed a voice, young and feminine. Leo stopped stretching his hands against the planks, head craning to listen. “It’s okay, Blue. It’s alright. Shhhh.”

 _‘The April girl?’_ The voice was muffled from the cage encased around him, however he could recognize that tone of voice anywhere - it was one of the first and longest voices he’d heard while here, after all. It was also just simply comforting. Like a mother cradling her young, similar to that of Leonardo’s late father. It held something he couldn’t understand, yet he would blindly follow anyway. Although with his father, he always knew why. With this girl however, his brain would not tell him its reasonings for calming down, nor the exhaustion that cast over him when she spoke. It was as if he were in a fairytale, and he let his eyelids slide closed yet again. 

…

_It hadn’t been easy trying to keep Leonardo from the humans._

_Believe them however when they say that they had tried. After a mere minute of Leonardo passed out, pressed protectively against Raphael’s chest, the door had opened with a creak, the zookeepers peeping their heads in. Their wary eyes met with the mutants’ own from across the room, and they slowly made their way in, holding what looked to be rope-slips; Similar to ones used on rescuing stray dogs._

_Moving with precise accuracy now that they knew the turtles location within the enclosure, they were surrounded within the minute. One by one they had been picked off, until all that remained was Raph and an unprotected, sleeping turtle. The oldest had bared his teeth, trying to look threatening, and blindly had kept taking steps forward, towards the men and women until he couldn’t feel Leonardo behind him anymore. Whipping around, he realized with a sinking feeling that they’d managed to slide behind him to grab his younger brother, and that just as quickly as they’d gotten him back, they had lost him again._

“Don!” He barked, still unbelievably pissed at himself and everything around him, turning from his pacing to stare down his brother with the purple mask. Donnie did nothing to hide the flinch; no one liked Raph when he was like this. “It’s been almost two hours, why the fuck isn’t he back yet!” 

“Like I should know, Raphael!” He snapped back, equally done with his new-leader’s shit. He hated this. He hated feeling this weak and alone and useless. More importantly, he hated fighting with his older brother. Donnie’s chest heaved. “Look, I can’t solve all the problems in the world for you, okay? Just take a chill pill, Raph!” 

“Oh, so that’s how it is?” The red-banded turtle laughed coldly before eyeing his taller family member. “You think I need you? I’ve been doing a great job leading-”

“Have you now?” The brainiac didn’t even know he could reach this level of agitated, but the past few days had taken its toll on him, and he wasn’t sure he could go on peacefully any longer. “Look where we are, Raphael. Look. Look where Leonardo is now, huh? Probably cooped up in some cage terrified out of his mind. Look at what your leading skills got us stuck! Just look!” 

“Guys…” Came a small whisper from the youngest in the room, instantly shut down by the two taller turtles, who were inches away from each other, fire dead set in their gaze. “Stop it…” 

“And it’s your fault Leo even ran away to begin with!” Raph growled, pushing his brother’s plastron, the taller stumbling back slightly, allowing the older to move closer and push back again. “You and your stupid-” 

“ **Stop it!** ” Came a sudden shout, and the room fell dead silent. The arguing turtles turned to find the youngest sniffling, stood mere metres away from them, a semi-shaking hand swiping at his baby-blue eyes. “You’ve got to stop it. _Please…_ ” 

The fight drained out of the older mutants immediately - “Hey, Mike-” Raph started, reaching a hand out to his brother, before cutting himself off when Michelangelo turned away from the touch. “Look, we-” 

“We’ll get him back.” Mikey met their gazes firmly, feeling the need to take control on this situation. His brothers were out of hand, and now it was up to the second-youngest to set them back in place. “We’ll… we’ll get him back, and we’ll get out of here, okay? **Okay**.” 

…

Leo had to avert his eyes when the doctor - _‘Vet, doctor? When did he get here?’_ \- flashed a light over his eyes, checking his pupils to make sure the drugs were wearing off properly. The blue-banded turtle did feel a lot better, minus the dull-throbbing behind his eyes, accompanied by the ever-growing headache from the bumpy drive to wherever he was. 

“Pupils are less dilated than before.” The man concluded, hand on his chin as he tilted his head slightly to the side and then up and down, checking his motor control. “Body seems to be waking up from the general anesthesia fairly well. Good boy.””

“So note to self - don’t add tons of sleeping pills to the food only one of them has even eaten yet?” Came another voice, coated in sarcasm and dry-humour. Leo stifled a groan; both at the attempts of jokes and at the petty nicknames. He wasn’t a dog, for crying out loud. 

The light shone a bit too close to his eyeball and he let out a startled yelp, wriggling himself despite his body not responding to his firm commands. His eyes clenched closed tightly. “Ah, I appear to have found-” 

“Found the spot that’ll make ‘im blind? Yeah. Lay off it, Frankenstein.” The light disappeared from behind his eyelids, and he squeezed them open again, one at a time just to be sure. “Alright, Blue, let's get this show on the road, yeah?” 

“Where are you off to with him? Do I need to check those bandages of his before you go? I’m not quite sure what his previous injuries were; just askin’.” 

“He’s here for a premiere of the new enclosure he and his brothers are in.” It was that Casey man from before - Leonardo should have known from the witty remarks. “And nah, I remember Ape telling me these bad boys were water-proof anyway, so he should be good.” 

“Oh.” Came the soft response. “So he’s water based then? I could have looked at him in a tank, you know this, right? Twenty-five years on the job doesn’t teach you nothing, kid.” 

“ _It taught you to be a dumbass._ ” Came a quiet, sharp reply from Casey, Leo barely able to hear the reply. “No, he’s both land and water, hence the fact that he’s here on land right now. The enclosure we’re taking him to today is practically just water though, so we made sure beforehand to rechange the bandages.” 

“Got you.” The older man smiled, and Leonardo took some comfort in his olden-looks. It reminded him of Splinter; and of simpler times. Back when he was just a kid. “You best be heading off now, then?” 

“Yeah - thanks for helping out, Joe.” Casey thanked the man, walking over to grab a bunch of sweet-smelling treats off a counter, wafting the bag near the turtle’s face as the doctor-vet-man left. “Alright, bud, let’s get moving, c’mon, use those powerful-lookin’ legs of yours.” 

Oh. He had to follow. It would probably be for the best - his legs needed blood to return to them, and no matter how annoyingly uncomfortable it was to move them, it really was the only way. Pulling himself forward with his hands, he felt the scent of apples and raspberries wash around him and pull away, and for once he gave into his already famished stomach and chased half-heartedly after the food, straight out and into the enclosure’s doors. 

When the door was bolted from the outside behind him, he stared right up at Casey, who smiled nervously at him. “‘Kay, Little B, let’s get you in that water.” 

_‘ **Little B**? You’ve got to be joking.’_

After a few seconds of just watching the water gently ripple in front of him, he felt the zookeeper begin to lose his patience. “Alright, just-” He splashed the water with his hand, flinging a few droplets up at Leonardo’s beak, taking great pleasure when the turtle snorted at them. “Not too bad, right - if you could make my job a bit easier-” 

Nothing. Casey groaned. “Okay, here, look, hmmm, yummy fruit.” He chucked a piece of whatever had been mixed around in that bag onto the water, the piece floating among the current peacefully. Leo’s nose twitched, and his stomach growled. “Yeah, you’re hungry, aren’t you bud?” Another piece was thrown in, and the youngest fought against himself as best as he could - the water looked cold, and the last thing he wanted was to get sick from some half-assed water-day. 

But his stomach revolted, and soon he found himself slipping some-what gracefully off the side of the ‘stage’ and into the water, forgetting the cold as he reached for the fruits, turning on his back to lay them against his chest as he ate. Similar to that of an otter eating; sure Leonardo may have wanted to act like an animal to keep them off his tail, but he’d also really wanted to try that out. 

_‘It’s not half bad’_ He mused, biting into one of the chewy treats as the waves softly swayed around him. The only thing he disliked was the sheer amount of water below him. _‘Better than that crate.’_

Something plopped into the water besides him, startling his thoughts - He looked up at Casey, who was holding a different bag this time, and then his eyes turned sideways to find whatever had been thrown had sunk down. His stomach coiled in realization. 

“Go on, Blue.” Casey murmured, chucking another thing in. It was shaped like an apple, and Leo didn’t get a good look on it before it too, was gone, sucked into the water's crippling current. “It’s not that scary, I promise. You never seen deep water before?” 

Oh he had. 

_“Leo!” Donnie yelled, voice choking on water and the sorts, arms frantically waving for his older brother, whom he knew couldn’t see his desperate and feeble attempts at signalling him. “Leo, my leg’s stuck! **Leoooo!** ” _

_“I’m coming, Don!” He had gurgled out, fear intercepting his ability to speak, to breathe, to do basically **anything** except panic. He pushed himself up shakily despite that, and he charged down the sewer tunnel as fast as his small legs could handle, finding the opening gap where tunnel upon tunnel met in one, giant bowl-like heap. His blue eyes scanned the open water, looking for - **there**. Nestled among some trash were his brother’s hands - the green barely contrasting against the sickly yellow surrounding him. “Hold on!” _

_Flinging himself into the mess of amber and dirty spray, he swam under the water’s surface, tiny legs pushing him against the current, fingers outstretched for his brother- he was met with Donatello’s shell, feeling his heartbeat even with the swirls of coming and going water draining through his ears. Diving deeper, he reached the log that had captured his brother’s foot, tugging with all his might until it came free._

_Hoisting the bo-weider’s body over his shoulder, he swam with all the strength he had left, plopping out of the enclosing liquid like a stone on water, dragging him and his brother far enough until he felt safe enough to ease the firm grip he had on the younger turtle. “You…” He huffed, lungs burning. “You good?”_

_“Yeah.” Donatello wheezed, coughing slightly. “I’m good.”_

_‘Cut me a break, Casey.’_ He wanted to mutter under his breath, biting the inner part of his cheeks to stay quiet. _‘You try almost seeing your sibling die.’_

Instead, he poked his head under the surface of the water, shuddering when the cold stretched over his face and around the back of his head. There, right at the bottom, were the fruits. They were much bigger than the tiny morsels he had just been given and, with a deep breath, he plunged under. 

Luckily, being much older than he was that fateful day, Leonardo could hold his breath for more than twenty seconds. In fact, after training and training, he held the family record of three **hours**. It took a lot of will power to make it through that last remaining half an hour underwater, but he could, if need be. He was a skilled swimmer, easily able to best his brothers in underwater matches and sparring. It was skill built on worry, however, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Donatello felt the same way sometimes. 

Swimming down a little further, he came across a carved out -or in, he should say- building, housing seating and what looked to be a presentation board; like the ones Don had made back when they were kids for ‘show and tell’. It was bittersweet to see, even if this one didn’t have pictures of Nebulae, ninja facts, war movies or cartoon characters. 

Deciding against going near it for now, he turned his back to it, swiftly diving further down and grabbing those pieces of fruit he’d originally been looking for, and heading back on up to the surface above. 

It could have been ten minutes, or ten hours later, Leonardo wasn’t sure, but he had found himself in quite the predicament. There, in the carved building from before, sat men, women and others alike, each staring into the deep blues of the enclosures intently, as if looking for something. 

Oh right. Him. The blue-clad turtle prided himself on having excellent eyesight, and therefore he concluded that while he could see them from where he was floating around in the tank, they obviously could not see him. _‘Should I try to get close?’_ He wondered, tapping his chin slowly, the water hindering his movements slightly. _‘Ah, why not. It was getting boring anyway.’_

Before he knew it he was at the glass, three-fingered appendages touching the panes gently, bubbles of air slowly slipping past his lips as he concentrated in making out their slightly misshapen bodies; they really shouldn’t have made curved glass. Donatello would be so frustrated if he were in this situation. From what it looked like, the humans were looking up at him in awe, their blurry eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and astonishment. Leo wanted to smile. 

A young little girl, who had been stood by her father’s side stepped forward, mouth agape in a silent giggle, deafened by the glass as she waddled forward. Leonardo could instantly tell she had to be around five, maybe a little older, and his heart instantly melted. She pressed a biscuit to the panes, smile faltering when she realized he couldn’t get to it. Her father was saying something in the background, muffled by the water and the sheer power of the wall before him. She seemed upset now, but with a few words from the man leading the presentation, -which Leonardo recognized as Joe, the vet from before- she seemed to pick up her usual gusto again, jumping up and down and tugging on her father’s sleeve as he looked at the veterinarian in embarrassment. 

Everyone in the room got up and began filing themselves out the door, and Leo let a large bubble of air escape this time, almost in frustration rather than boredom. Where were they off to now? Was he coming along too? His fingers glazed along the panels before him, pressing his face against it just to make sure no one else was there anymore before he heard a slapping noise from above. 

Wildly, his eyes shot up, prepared for trash or some object or another to be pinned on top of him, onto to find what looked to be a hand, slapping the top of the water, creating delicate ripples among the ocean-blue colour. 

Dragging his body out and into the air once more, he inhaled through the side of his mouth, shaking the water from his ears as he adjusted to the sounds once more. 

“-so cute!” 

Oh! His gaze angled towards the excited girl, who was now standing on the stage, the biscuit from before held tightly in her almost crushing grip. Joe was knelt next to her, hands firmly on her shoulders to stop her from slipping into the water. “Yes, but you have to be still, okay? Very still.” He lifted a hand momentarily to adjust his microphone, attached to the side of his face. “So this, as I said before, is Blue, or ‘Little Blue’. He is part of our neighboring zoos newest attraction, and has come over here today to spend a little alone time - he’s quite enjoying it from what we’ve seen so far, isn’t he?” 

There were murmured laughs among the crowds, and Leonardo’s heart fumbled in embarrassment. “There are others like him?” The little girl asked quietly, voice shy and uncertain. 

“Yes, Chloe, there is! Blue here is the youngest of the species in custody so far, and is by far the friendliest animal the zoo has ever had! Look at those eyes of his too - aren’t they beautiful?” 

“Like the ocean.” Breathed Chloe, the young girl making a grabby hand at him, eyes bright and wide, like Michelangelo when he gets into a video game, or a TV show. Leonardo’s heart warmed. “So pretty.” 

“Yes - and, ladies and gentlemen, as much as Blue here is adorable, shouldn’t we move onto the whole reason we’re here?” 

“Biscuit! Biscuit!” Chloe cheered, her blonde hair waving around as she nodded frantically. Many small ‘awhs’ were heard from the crowd. “Mr. Turtle, you want the biscuit?” She held it out, smiling down at him. He swore if the man wasn’t holding her, she’d probably go face first into him she was leaning that far. 

Joe grinned. “Alright, easy now, palm flat - _yes, like that_ \- and bend down a little; hold it out to him now, there you go.” 

The biscuit, which turned out to be a sugary mess of icing and sprinkles, was shown to him slowly. While he’d rather not eat from the palm of a little girls hand, or any hand in general, for this one, just to see her smile, he’d make an exception. She giggled as he took the food from her, patting his still-wet head with the tips of her fingers as he ate, looking like sunshine and everything above. “So cute, Mr. Turtle!” 

…

“That was adorable to watch.” 

Leonardo wasn’t bothered as he was laid in his crate by Casey, taking comfort in the warmth the human radiated as he was placed down onto soft, dry bedding, curling himself up as his eyes drifted shut. The cage bolts were locked a second later, and a blanket was tossed over the box, covering the gaps in it so that the light wouldn’t bother him. 

“I know, right? Nice job, Joe, you really worked the crowd.” 

“It wasn’t all me - that kid, uh, Chloe? She was so sweet. If I had brought some adult out to do it, I don’t even know if Blue would have surfaced and done what he did at all. It was so sweet - I swear I felt tears in my eyes.” He chuckled. “She wanted to feed him a biscuit; I mean the purity. So cute.”

 _‘Yeah’_ Leonardo wondered how many times he was going to keep falling asleep before he could stay away for longer than a few hours at a time, but that was besides the point. This tiredness came from a feeling of warmth and security. It was the first time he’d truly felt **safe**. _‘It was pretty cute.’_


	12. Chapter eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up - if you catch any annoying typos, feel free to let me know; I write a chapter per day mixed in around my schoolwork, so sometimes, with the thousands of words there are, I tend to miss them. 
> 
> Warning for this chapter - Mentions of blood and panic attacks. I will be adding tags onto the story for this - I've seen many writers do this and feel obliged to let you all know

Raphael growled for what felt like the millionth time, eyeing the scientists just outside the glass panels, who were chatting quietly among themselves. This was the first time they’d seen any men and women since Leonardo had been taken; and the red-clad turtle wasn’t pleased with them. This time, however, they were angled towards them, clipboards in hands, brows furrowed as they wrote and wrote and wrote. 

While he couldn’t know for certain what was being written, he assumed it had to be about them. A few of them would jot something down whenever he behaved in his usual, raging-self, he noted, and the same went for when Michelangelo acted strangely - or well, normally he supposed. Swinging from the ropes and doing flips, or diving into the water with a squeal. Donatello didn’t seem to have many people writing for him; perhaps they couldn’t see much worth writing, as there wasn’t a way to put his intelligence to the test in this forsaken cage. But it confirmed his thoughts; behaviour studies. He’d seen Splinter, Leonardo and Donatello watch shows on it before while he was training. He knew the basics of it to notice it playing out right in front of him. 

_‘Who would’ve thought that people would be interested in my anger and Mikey’s stupidity?’_ He snorted, eyeing up a platform nearby to the glass, pushing himself up with all his might and grabbing a hold of the wood, hoisting himself up and swinging his legs around to further steady himself. “Nice, Edge.” He heard one of the workers coo, and he couldn’t help but want to punch those stupid smiles off their faces. He’d only come closer to know what they were doing, not to listen to baby-talk. 

“Hey, John?” One of the females piped up, tucking her clipboard under her arm as she turned away from looking at Raphael’s brothers. “When will Blue get back? I heard it went alright, from what Casey said on the groupchat. I thought it was supposed to end at one?” 

Raphael poked his face closer to the glass, trying hard to mimic an animal rather than act normal, but he needed to listen in. They were talking about Leo… _‘At least she said it went fine.’_ He mused, adjusting his footing against the wooden platform, hands down on the floor as well to provide him a more animalistic stance. “It was.” The man, John, agreed, also tucking his clipboard under his arm, getting out his phone and unlocking it, scrolling down a little and then showing her the screen. “Traffic got them bad - the little one probably isn’t doing great stuck in that cage, too - which reminds me; we need to order larger transport cages, he couldn’t even stretch in that one.” He began typing something out after, nodding to himself quietly. 

_‘You put him in a cage?’_ Raph knew he shouldn’t be surprised, but one that he could barely move in? Are these humans serious? _‘Bastards.’_

“But when exactly does he get back?”

John checked his watch, and then looked at his phone. “Hmmm; ten minutes, I reckon.” He put his phone back, taking the clipboard and pen and scribbling a few notations down, before handing it to one of the other scientists, who took it without question. “Jane?” He called out, and a head popped up among the others. She was blushing furiously, and Raphael couldn’t contain his groan. “Why don’t you and I go check on Blue’s arrival? Max - you can come too.” 

The boy, Max, nodded furiously, picking up a rucksack and slinging it over his shoulder. He looked nervous and far too young to be a scientist. _‘An intern? Did Zoos even have interns? Whatever he is, he looks young. A bit too young.’_ Max smiled at him when their eyes met, brushing back some of his blonde hair behind his ear, using the same hand after to press against the glass, palm first. He was waiting for him to do something. 

_‘Uh…’_ Raph blanked, before realizing what he was trying to do. He hesitated, before pressing a quick hand to the cold panel, swiping at his hand and drawing himself back and off the platform, but not before seeing the boy smile at him, the human turning swiftly after and trotting after the two older people. _‘Well, see you, kid…?’_

…

_‘Are you serious?’_

Leonardo pressed a hand to the wood again, pushing hard as he felt his legs begin to cramp. He’d been in here for hours now, it felt, and it was dark and humid, and he didn’t want this anymore. He had only been compliant earlier because he was tired and felt safe for once, but that was shattered now. He felt the truck bump along the road, the crate holding steady, perhaps pinned by ropes and other material. He didn’t fancy going flying anytime soon, though, so he supposed that was good. 

He’d kind of hoped they wouldn’t have put him back in the box. He wasn’t made for confined spaces, he’s soon discovered. He actually was rather claustrophobic - _‘hah, a ninja? Claustrophobic? You aren’t serious!’._ He punched at the wood in frustration, the fear slowly crawling on him as he continued to batter the planks until he felt the skin under the bandages split, and blood came pooling out, soaking the white in a light red. He wanted his swords - he wanted to go home. _‘I want my **brothers**.’_

He lay still, puffing out of his nose as he held his throbbing hands against his chest, feeling the wet fabric push against his plastron. It wasn’t as if he was being tortured or something - in fact, he’d done all this to himself, but that made him feel worse - a sinking, dreading feeling. He’d made himself bleed. What else would he succumb to if he couldn’t handle the pressure anymore? What if he never saw his family again? His breath hitched, and tears sprung to his eyes. _‘Breathe, Leonardo.’_ His Sensei’s voice rumbled in his ear, soft and calming. _‘You just need to breathe.’_

_Leonardo couldn’t breathe - his lungs burnt, and his face was hot with tears. His arms tightly wound around his pillow, drawing it closer to himself in a desperate attempt to rid the tight feeling in his chest. The turtle-tot could feel his heart pounding against his chest, his whole body shaking violently. He didn’t want this - he never wanted this!_

_“Papa.” He sniffled softly, voice tight against his throat. “ **Papa-** ”_

_There was a hand on his back, soft and delicate. “My son.” Leonardo turned to bury his face in the old rats fur, fingers unclenching and forgetting the pillow to grab onto his father’s robes. “Leonardo.” His sensei murmured, lifting him up and settling him on his hip, the blue-clad turtle’s head buried in the crook of his neck. “What happened?”_

_“I woke up-and-and you weren’t there-” He hiccuped, choking on the air wrapped tightly around him, squeezing him. “I couldn’t-couldn’t find you!”_

_“My son, I only left to get a drink.” The rat’s hands began rubbing soft circles into his back, along his shell, softly tracing patterns. “Why did you think that I had left? - you know I never would, Leonardo.”_

_“I-I don’t-” He gasped for a breath. “I just-just woke up and I-I couldn’t find you; I thought…” His voice choked and he hiccuped again. “I thought you didn’t love us anymore…”_

_“Oh, Leonardo.” His sensei didn’t sound mad - more distressed at the mere thought of his son thinking that way. “I will always love you and your brothers - I assure you.”_

_His breathing was evening out slowly as he began calming, his father never leaving his side. Leonardo was taken into the kitchen that Splinter had managed to salvage materials for, being placed on a piece of stone, covered by an old, ripped shirt. He reached his trembling fingers out, but his father shook his head. “In a minute, Leonardo.”_

_“But dad-”_

_“I’m not going anywhere.” A small fire was lit, and a kettle was placed on top. “I’m still here. Just breathe.”_

_The child whimpered, fingers moving up to clench at his mouth to stop the pathetic sounds from echoing too loudly. He didn’t want his brothers to hear him; he’d never live it down. But he wanted so badly to be by his father’s side that he just couldn’t help the sad, lonely tears running down his face. “I don’t want to be alone.”_

_“My child, you are not alone. I am merely right here.” Splinter came over after placing the ingredients into the pot, crouching down to meet his son eye-to-eye. “Why are you so afraid, still? Explain to me what it feels like.” He poked a finger to his son’s heart. “Does your heart hurt?”_

_“Y-yes.” He hiccuped, head bowed, hands pressed against his chest to ease the feeling resting under it, like a splinter to the skin. “A-and it’s ra-racing, and ‘m scared. I don’t like it, papa-”_

_“Do you get like this a lot?” He asked softly, patting the turtle’s head. “Have you felt like this before?”_

_“When-when Raphie and me went out.” He knew he shouldn’t snitch on his brother, but he was never one to lie to his father. “He-I couldn’t find him.” He whimpered, voice tight again. “I couldn’t find anyone.” He took a second to breathe, the air whistling in his lungs at the feeble attempt. “A-and when me and Mikey were play-playing hide and seek, I-I couldn’t find him, and I was s-so sc-scared…” He let out a noise that could be considered a wail, and buried his head back into his father’s neck, letting out a small sob._

_“It’s alright, my child.” He was picked up once more, and he snuggled into the familiar grasp. “I feel as if you may be experiencing something called ‘Autophobia’ - do you know what that is, Leonardo?”_

_A shake of the head against his neck, and Splinter continued. “It is where you feel scared when alone - it is alright to feel this way, but perhaps you feel it more strongly than others, my son. We can train against it though - how does that sound?” A soft kiss was pressed to his head. “Do you want to be scared, Leonardo?”_

_“No…”_

_“There’s my brave son. We shall start tomorrow, but for now, here - have some tea.”_

He inhaled. _‘In for four, hold for five, out for six’_. He instructed himself, clenching his eyes closed as he fought against his irregular breathing. Although his chest felt tighter then he would have appreciated, it was nothing compared to that night. He shuddered, feeling desperate to move -to do something- and ended up elbowing the wooden planks surrounding him, letting out a soft hiss. Pain seemed to do the trick in helping him find peace once more, however. But it also drew the attention of a person just outside the box. 

“Hey, Blue; almost there, boy, shhhhhh.” 

His eyes snapped awake as he rubbed at his sore elbow. The last time April was here, he was in the old zoo, if he remembered correctly. This means that they’re close! Or even here already! Leonardo wiggled uncomfortably, practically bubbling - he wanted out and he was so close! 

The blue-clad turtle realized the truck had stopped moving, and that there were voices outside, shouting commands and powering on equipment. April stayed with him throughout, stroking the box and whispering reassuring things to him as the voices got closer, until they were so close she was drowned out. Something was clicked on the box's sides, and he was pulled forward, grunting as his body was unprepared for the sudden change in direction. 

The cage was lifted up and placed onto what felt like a trolly, his body being jostled again as it began moving. He could hear April once more, however, calmly talking to him as she walked alongside the trolly, her footsteps off to his left now. The box moved a little further before stopping, and something clicked onto the wooden panel in front of him, secured in its place. Leonardo raised an eyebrow, pawing at the wood, listening for any small noises - his ears caught onto a small _“one, two, three!”_ before the front wood panel was removed, and light flooded into the crate. 

Hissing, he clenched his eyes shut, but scrambled out regardless of his lack of sight, landing on a cold, metal platform. Reaching a blind hand out, he touched the walls surrounding him - metal. They felt like bars, and he grabbed a hold of one of them, keeping himself upright. His legs felt like jelly, and all he wanted to do was stretch, but just as quickly as he was transferred, they had started back up again, moving along and down the corridors. Leo risked a peep into the outside word, being met with less-blinding lights and a long, narrow walkway. 

They turned into a small room, April securing the cage to the floor and beginning to get out supplies. They appeared to be in the same vet room he had first been in, and he shuddered. “Casey - can you get his hands for me? I need to change those bandages real quick.” 

Oh yeah. Leonardo looked down at his hands, wincing at the blood staining them. He appreciated it - he didn’t want his brothers to see that. Keeping his hands against the bar allowed for Casey to grab them one at a time, holding them out while his fingers were unwrapped, treated, and wrapped again. The bruising on his fists didn’t look much better, and he cursed himself for panicking like that. It would take longer to heal now. “Done. Thank you, Blue.” She gave him a tap on the nose, smiling down at him. “Now let’s get you going, shall we?” 

Walking him swiftly down the hall, they came across the first door to his enclosure ‘hallway’. Casey opened them, and in total, there had to be around four bolted-shut doors. _‘Great’_ He thought tiredly, yawning. _‘The only information I’ve got isn’t helpful at all.’_.

“Aw, cute.” The girl chuckled, patting the bars of the cage as she walked past, getting out a key to open a locked closet door nearby the opening to his enclosure. “Case’, catch-” She threw an article of clothing at the man, and he caught it neatly. “New suits - while we can trust Blue here, they want us wearing these at all times when opening the doors.”

“Gotcha.” He pulled what looked to be a protective suit on; it was rather buff and large, but it did the trick. If Raphael was to punch that, Leonardo didn’t even think he could hurt the man. He’d probably just end up with broken fingers instead, and that would put the leader off trying to hit it again. Or so he hoped - he never really knew what Raph was going to attempt to pull off. 

Unbolting the door, Casey pulled it open, the opening creaking on its hinges like some form of monster. The adjusted the cage to click onto the opening, similar to before, and opened his own cage. “Off you pop, Blue.” 

Crawling out, he landed with a thump against the ground, and watched as they shut the door behind him, carefully avoiding snagging his feet. Standing up shakily for the first time in what felt like hours, he wobbled dangerously, eyes blinking furiously around. He hadn’t been in the enclosure for that long overall, so just like when he’d walked in for the first time, it was like being greeted with a whole new world. More Or Less. 

“Leo?” Donatello’s voice snapped him from his daze, and he looked up tiredly to find his brother jumping off a rock he had appeared to have been sleeping on, jogging over to hug the youngest tightly. “Nothing bad happened right? You’re okay?”

“Yeah.” He smiled at the show of affection coming from his brother, and leaned heavily into his touch, relishing the skin-on-skin contact he’d been missing practically all day. “I’m good.” 

“Guys!” Donnie kept one hand around his brother’s shell, steadying him as he turned to shout; “Leo’s back!” 

Mikey was the second to come tumbling to his side, wet to the touch as he hugged him tightly. Leo stifled a groan; he’d probably been playing in the pool. Leonardo had seen enough water for one day, and having it rubbed against him wasn’t that pleasant anyway. “Leo!” Mike wailed dramatically. “I thought you’d died!” 

“Yes Mikey.” He droned, the smile widening tiredly on his face, resting his forehead against his brother’s. “I’m so, so very dead. You’ll have to bury me.” 

Michelangelo giggled, wrapping his hands fully around his brother, whole body lax against his, as he was to him. His older brother - _‘I can kind of see it now’_ \- grinned at him, pulling back and booping him on the nose, jumping away before the blue-clad turtle could do anything. Not that he could anyway; he was just so damn tired.

Raph wound his arms around him last. He hadn’t even noticed his brother approach them all, but he knew it was him even if he was blindfolded. The oldest squeezed him tightly, resting his head on Leonardo’s own, sighing. “You look half-dead on your feet, fearless.” He confirmed what Leo suspected everyone else was thinking, though his voice was much gentler than Leonardo had been suspecting. He sounded worn out too. “How ‘bout you go lay down?” 

“Wouldn’t hurt I guess.” He sighed, trying to take a step forward only to collapse, the only thing stopping him hitting the floor being Raphael’s quick reaction. “Woah, okay, so walking still is a no.” 

Mikey chuckled, but his hand was raised over the younger’s shoulder nervously. “I’m sure big, bad Raphie could carry you.” 

As in on cue, the red-banded turtle picked the blue-clad up, shuffling over to a lower-down area nestled among the bushes and leaves. Leo raised a brow. “We have two ‘beds’ now. We thought maybe since they seem ta like drugging us so much we should probably keep one on the down low, so we don’t fall.” Raph supplied, understanding his brother’s most simplest of motions.

Agreeing silently, he was set down among one of the flattened parts of the grass, and let out a grunt when Mikey tackled him down, hugging himself into the blue-clad’s chest, smiling. “No way we’re leaving now.” Michelangelo poked his tongue out cheekily before nuzzling closer. He was no longer wet, Leonardo realized. _‘Must’ve dried himself off’_. “They clearly like you more than us.” 

“I agree.” Donnie settled down besides Mikey, leaning up on his elbow to see Leonardo. “So I say it’s best for now if we all just stay together. Like when we were- Oh. Mikey, he’s already gone.” 

“What?” The turtle peeped his head out from Leonardo's chest to see he was now in a ridiculously heavy sleep, his breaths easier to hear than his normal, silent-working lungs, and his body relaxed against the older turtle. Mikey smirked. “Wittle Wenardo wants a slweepy?” 

“Cut it out before he wakes up, hears you, and **ends** you.” Donnie said, chuckling, turning away from his brothers and pressing the back of his shell to the orange-banded turtle. “Goodnight.” 

“Yeah yeah.” Droned the nunchuck-wielding ninja. “Night, D.” He looked up at the oldest, who was still stood up, more alert compared to them all. “C’mon, Raphie-boy, just come rest for a bit. We’ve got him, he ain’t going anywhere.” Donnie mumbled his approval, breathing already beginning to even out. 

Raphael sighed, turning on his heel and laying down on Leo’s other side, tucked in close to avoid the blue-clad (or even himself) getting cold. He wasn’t tired, and he knew he wouldn’t sleep for some time, but being near his brothers was a must. “G’night.” He mumbled out anyway, hearing an echo from his two awake brothers, and nothing from the already asleep third. He must have been pretty exhausted to have already passed out. Raphael was almost impressed, though he was enjoying the time Leonardo spent awake with him and his brothers, it was good to see his sibling getting the proper rest he needed. 

_‘Guess I’ll just stare at nothing.’_ He concluded after a moment of listening to his brothers breathing softly, the noises only barely reaching his ears. _‘But nothing has never felt so nice.’_

Even if they didn’t get out soon, Raphael was alright with that, for once in his lifetime. Being here, among with his brothers was good enough for him at this point.


End file.
